Bob was an All-CIF player at Alhambra High School before taking his court talents to USC from 1950-52. He finished college as the Trojan team MVP. He first coached at El Segundo and Alhambra High Schools, then six years at Santa Ana College with outstanding success. Included was a second place California State JC finish. He took over as the USC head coach at the height of the John Wooden UCLA era, after leading Seattle to the 1964 NCAA Tournament (41-13 in two years as head coach). He did a wonderful job at USC from 1967 to 1979, finishing with a 216-131 record, .622 winning percentage.

He was twice Conference Coach of the Year and led the Trojans to four post-season berths, including losing in the NCAA Tournament in his final USC year in 1979. He is most remembered for the 1970-71 season when the Trojans went 24-2, but only one team could be in the NCAA Tournament from a conference in those days. He had three top 20 teams, and sent 10 players to the NBA. He handed Wooden his only two losses at Pauley Pavilion in his Bruin coaching career. His son Bill played for him from 1973-76. After leaving USC, Boyd coached at Mississippi State (1982-85), Riverside Community College (1989), and Chapman University (1990-92). He was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. He passed away at age 84 in January, 2015.